Isis,
though worshipped all over Egypt, was specially venerated
in certain cities, and the following are among the most
common of her titles: --"The great lady, the
God-mother, lady of Re-a-nefer; Isis-Nebuut, lady of
Sekhet; lady of Besitet; Isis in Per Pakht, the queen of
Mesen; Isis of Ta-at-nehepet; Isis, dweller in Netru;
Isis, lady of Hebet; Isis in P-she-Hert; Isis, lady of
Khebt; Usert-Isis, giver of life, lady of Abaton, lady of
Philae, lady of the countries of the south," etc.
From a list of title of the goddess collected by Dr.
Brugsch, it is clear that Isis was called Usert, in
Thebes, Aat, in Heliopolis, Menkhet, in Memphis,
God-Mother, in Coptos, Hert, in Letopolis; and
"Hent," i.e., "Queen," in every nome;
and another important list tells us that Isis was called
Ament, in Thebes, Menhet, in Heliopolis, renpet, In
Memphis, Sept, in Abydos, Hetet, in Behutet, Hurt, in
Nekhen, Thenenet, in Hermonthis, Ant, in Dendera,
Sesheta, in Hermopolis, Heqet, in Hibiu, Uatchit, in
Hipponus, Mersekhen, in Herakleopolis, Renpet, in
Crocodilopolis, Neb-tept, in Arsinoe, That, or Tchetut,
in Aphroditopolis, and Shetat, in Bubastis. Among her
general titles may be mentioned those of "the divine
one, the only one, the greatest of the gods and
goddesses, the queen of all gods, the female Ra, the female Horus,
the eye of Ra, the crown of Ra-Heru, Sept, opener of the
year, lady of the New Year, maker of the sunrise, lady of
heaven, the light-giver of heaven, lady of the North
Wind, queen of the earth, most mighty one, queen of the
South and North, lady of the solid earth, lady of warmth
and fire, benefactress of the Tuat, she who is greatly
feared in the Tuat, the God-mother, the God-mother of
Heru-ka-nekht, the mother of the Horus of gold, the lady
of life, lady of green crops, the green goddess
(Uatchet), lady of bread, lady of beer, lady of
abundance, lady of joy and gladness, lady of love, the
maker of kings, lady of the Great House, lady of the
House of fire, the beautiful goddess, the lady of words
of power, lady of the shuttle, daughter of Seb, daughter
of Neb-er-tcher, the child of Nut, wife of Ra, wife of
the lord of the abyss, wife of the lord of the
Inundation, the creatrix of the Nile flood."

From a number of passages in the texts of various
periods we learn that Isis possessed great skill in the
working of magic, and several examples of the manner in
which she employed it are well known. Thus when she
wished to make Ra reveal to her his greatest and most
secret name, she made a venomous reptile out of dust
mixed with the spittle of the god, and by uttering over
it certain words of power she made it to bite Ra as he
passed. When she had succeeded in obtaining from the god
his most hidden name, which he only revealed because he
was on the point of death, she uttered words which had
the effect of driving the poison out of his limbs, and Ra
recovered. Now Isis not only used the words of power, but
she also had knowledge of the way in which to pronounce
them so that the beings or things to which they were
addressed would be compelled to listen to them and,
having listened, would be obliged to fulfill her
bequests. The Egyptians believed that if the best effect
was to be produced by words of power they must be uttered
in a certain tone of voice, and at a certain rate, and at
a certain time of the day or night, with appropriate
gestures or ceremonies. In the Hymn to Osiris it is said that Isis was
well skilled in the use of words of power, and it was by
means of these that she restored her husband to life, and
obtained from him an heir. It is not known what the words
were which she uttered on this occasion, but she appears
to have obtained them from Thoth, the "lord of
divine words," and it was to him that she appealed
for help to restore Horus to life after he had been stung
to death by a scorpion.

In the Theban Recension of the Book
of the Dead is found a Chapter (No. clvi.) which was
composed for the purpose of bestowing upon the deceased
some of the magical power of the goddess. The Chapter was
intended to be recited over an amulet
called thet, made of carnelian, which had to be steeped
in water of ankhami flowers, and set in a sycamore
plinth, and if this were laid on the neck of a dead
person it would place him under the protection of the
words of power of Isis, and he would be able to go
wheresoever he pleased in the Underworld. The words of
the Chapter were: -- "Let the blood of isis, and the
magical powers (or spirits) of Isis, and the words of
power of Isis, be mighty to protect and keep safely this
great god (i.e., the deceased), and to guard him from him
that would do unto him anything which he
abominateth."

The symbol of Isis in the heavens was the star Sept
(Sirius), which was greatly beloved because its
appearance marked not only the beginning of a new year,
but also announced the advance of the Inundation of the
Nile, which betokened renewed wealth and prosperity of
the country. As such Isis was regarded as the companion
of Osiris, whose soul dwelt in the star Sah, i.e., Orion,
and she was held to have brought about the destruction of
the fiend Apep, and of his hosts of darkness by means of
the might of her words of power. As the light-giver at
this season of the year she was called Khut, as the
mighty earth-goddess her name was Usert, as the Great
Goddess of the Underworld she was Thenenet, as the power
which shot forth the Nile flood she was Sati, and sept,
as the embracer of the land and producer of fertility by
her waters she was Anqet, as the producer and giver of
life she was Ankhet, as the goddess of cultivated lands
and fields she was Sekhet, as the goddess of the harvest
she was Renenet, as the goddess of food which was offered
to the gods she was Tcheft, and lived int he Temple of
Tchefau, and as the great lady of the Underworld, who
assisted in transforming the bodies of the blessed dead
into those whrein they were to live in the realm of
Osiris, her name was Ament, i.e., the "hidden"
goddess. In this last capacity she shared with Osiris the
attribute of "giver of life," and she provided
food for the dead as well as for the living; as Ament
also she was declared to be the mother of Ra. In fact, at
a comparatively early period in Egyptian history Isis had
absorbed the attributes of all the great primitive
goddesses, and of all the local goddesses such as
Nekhebet, Uatchet, Net, Bast, Hathor, etc., and she was
even identified as the female counterpart of the primeval
abyss of water from which sprang all life. From what has
been said above it is manifestly impossible to limit the
attributes of Isis, for we have seen that she possesses
the powers of a water goddess, an earth goddess, a corn
goddess, a star goddess, a queen of the Underworld, and a
woman, and that she united in herself one or more of the
attributes of all the goddesses of Egypt known to us.